Mt. Moosilauke (4,802 ft) 11-16-09

Distance: 7.232 mi.
Elevation: 3263 ft.
Time: 3:30 (ascent) 4:15 (total)
Trails: Glencliff Trail, Carriage Road

The trail starts off very gentle following the edge of a couple fields before going into the woods for good. It isn't overly steep but steadily gains elevation. There are few rocks during this section of trail making pretty easy and a good warm up for the rest of the hike.

Early section of trail

All along trail there are plenty of trees that have broken off or fallen. Some have been there for many years and some have fallen recently. You will also find there are many brooks that are next to, crossing, or running down the trail. But even with this, it isn't overly muddy.

Fallen tree

After hiking for quite a while (2 miles?), you will come to the steepest section of the hike. But even this isn't that bad. There are no large rocks to climb up or over.

Steeper section of trail

Since it was a cold and windy day with some morning clouds, I started to see ice forming on the trees around 4,000 ft.

Some ice on the needles

Once you reach the junction with the Carriage Road Trail, it becomes quite easy walking. You are on the ridge between the summit and the south peak, so there is no steep sections or hard parts. This was where I started seeing many more trees with ice forming on them.

Carriage Road trail

The walk along the ridge was quite easy and made for a short trip to the summit.

Summit in some clouds

I never really did get much of a view to the North. The clouds were in and out (mostly in), making views limited. I could mostly see to the South and sometimes the East and West. Normally I would have waited a while for some better photos, but it was a little chilly and VERY windy. It was even hard to stand still at times while taking photos.

Summit

I decided it would be best to start heading back down the mountain and get to where the trees could provide me some shield from the wind.

Heading back down the trail

The Eastern side of the mountain

While hiking back on the ridge, I was able to look back and have a beautiful view of the summit I had just left. It made quite the seen with the blue sky above and the ice on the trees and rocks. This was probably the best part of the hike and I was now headed back down with a big smile on my face.

View back to the summit

All in all this was a great hike and not as hard as I was expecting with the elevation of the summit. Even with the high winds on the summit I still had a great time and enjoyed myself a lot. It was great to see everything there and even better having it to myself as I never saw a single person.

Close up of summit sign

Rime ice forming on the rocks

Ice forming on a cairn near the summit

To view the rest of the pictures from the hike, just click here.